24 HOURS (A NEW SERIES)
OK, so this is kind of like 24, only the working mom edition. I've been getting a lot of emails recently about working as a blogger, how to get started, what it's like, etc. I wanted to share a sort of "day in the life" post that is totally uncensored. 24 hours as a "work from home" mama. Hoping to rope some of my incredibly inspirational mom friends in, too. I have several friends that work in all different arenas (part-time, full-time, from home) so I think (hope?) you'll find it as interesting as I do and hopefully gain a few tips along the way. Maybe I should change the title to: So... can you handle it? or working moms, not for the faint of heart. Kidding. Kind of.
6:30 am: I can hear that Matilda is awake. I have a quick inner dialogue: "I should really take a shower. Need to get up now and shower." The bed wins almost every time.
7:00 am: Sam rolls out of bed and I can hear footsteps coming down the stairs. I'm not ready. Matilda is fully dressed in her ballet garb and ready to "Do ballet." "Mama, can you put on some ballet music." "I'm hungry." "Where's my water." Blink eyes. Fumble for the coffee maker. Luckily Matilda can now get her own water and grab a yogurt out of the fridge for breakfast. Let Guinness out. Twice.
7:30 am: I hear Phoebe! Matilda runs upstairs to greet her sister with lots of squeals. I love this. Change Phoebe, get her bottle ready (didn't set up my day. clearly.), and sneak sips of coffee while feeding her. Grab some puffs for Phoebe to buy me a little time to unload the dishwasher. She's obsessed with these things. These early hours fly by and before I know it it's Bee's naptime and I forgot to eat breakfast.
9:30 am: Put Phoebe down and Matilda begs to watch "Angelina." I let her because I see I have ten semi-urgent emails and need to clean up the house before our new friends come over for a playdate. Attempt to put out a few fires, clear up a few things, and write down my "to-do" notes for naptime.
10:00 am: Our friends arrive and we have a blast for a few hours: dress-up, snack, playing "baby-sitter," coloring and just enough girl talk to make me feel much less stressed about getting everything I need to get done done. Phoebe wakes up a little after 11.
12:30 pm: Say goodbye to our friends, a little more food and then Matilda begs for a bath (she was supposed to get one before the playdate but didn't happen because I had too much on my plate). I try to bargain with her for a "super luxurious bath" after her nap with mermaid time galore! Doesn't work. Put Phoebe down around 1:45 and then we take a "power bath," read a story (No Fits, Nilson! - seems appropriate), and then I rub her back and she seems peaceful and at ease. Yay!
2:00 pm: I eat two scoops of coconut peanut butter (delish) and that ends up being lunch. :/ However, this does not happen everyday, but when it does I say a silent prayer of thanks. I get two uninterrupted hours to get work done. Today's tasks: newsletter for seed factory (tax-free weekend is coming up), edit and organize three blog posts for Annette, and lots of back and forth emails for both about upcoming projects, deadlines, etc.
4:00 pm: Do some stretches. I hear Phoebe! Love getting her out of bed. The best. We come downstairs and grab a bottle. Matilda arrives soon after (with the addition of a tutu this time). We have a little snack and I try to get dishes done and some laundry too.
5:00 pm: The girls are both hungry so we have an early dinner. Carrots and pears for Bee and an organic hot dog (has to be better, right?), grapes and cheese for Til. Both are happy. Matilda pours her own ketchup.
6:00 pm: I receive the dreaded text: "gonna be late." I take this moment to organize the fridge and leave all outdated items on counter. Get distracted. Decide it's raining, so one more episode of Angelina couldn't hurt? My dad arrives with Hector, an amazing landscaper, to surprise me with three hours of work before my baby shower I'm hosting next weekend. I almost cry.
7:00 pm: Sam is still not home, his car is overheating and there is crazy traffic. Matilda and I pray for him before she goes to sleep. Bedtime takes forever. Luckily Phoebe was in pjs at 6:30 and ready for bed so I put her down first. Matilda wants to read all the books. I'm feeling anxious because I still have a load of work to do. We settle on one book, a made up story, and some cuddle time.
7:30 pm: Sam is still not home. Oh, yeah I made a mess in the kitchen. I clean all of that up and because I'm left to my own devices (Sam is the head chef - not gonna lie) I eat a cold piece of pizza. I realize it's a bad decision and do it anyway because I am starving. Turn on e! news (guilty pleasure) and get started on newsletter edits from earlier. Do a few rounds and it's all set.
8:00 pm: Sam arrives, exhausted. We make small talk about our days. We're both beat. Work through a little Duck Dynasty (totally have a crush on Willie). Sam has leather work to do and I just want to collapse.
9:00 pm: Straighten up a bit, debate taking a bath, decide on bed instead. Read a little on my kindle until my eyes are closing involuntarily.
10:00 pm: Sam is still tooling away and my light is out.
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